(Radio Iowa) – The Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting Governor Kim Reynolds has given two state agency directors big bonuses this year. The Gazette got documents showing the governor gave Iowa Homeland Security director Paul Trombino a 46-thousand dollar bonus in February, bringing his annual salary to nearly 160-thousand dollars. Debi Durham, the director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority AND the Iowa Finance Authority, got a 50-thousand dollar bonus in January.

Durham had been Economic Development Authority director since 2011, but in 2018 Reynolds fired the Finance Authority’s director, who was accused of sexual harassment, and asked Durham to lead that agency as well. Documents posted on The Cedar Rapids Gazette website show Durham’s salary this year will top 200-thousand dollars.

The Cass County Master Gardeners are excited to announce the return of their annual Spring Plant Sale for 2021. Cancelled last year as the pandemic prohibited public gathering, the 2021 event promises to have a wide variety of spring perennials available for gardeners looking to update their landscape this year. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday morning, May 8, at the Cass County Community Center, 805 W 10th Street, on the Cass County Fairgrounds. The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for spring planting, as well as possibly some garden tools and decor.

The sale begins at 8 AM, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds in Atlantic. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM. Due to the pandemic, several safety measures will be in place for this sale, including recommending the use of masks when interacting with others and completing purchase, spreading out sale items to allow for social distancing, hand sanitizer stations and a one-way traffic flow for shoppers.

Cass County Master Gardeners will be bringing a variety of plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens around the community, for this sale. Community members are also welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! If you are dividing perennials in your yard this spring and have extra plants to donate, please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale. As the event gets closer, the group will be sharing a list of plants expected to be available at the sale. Cass County Master Gardeners use funds from the plant sale to support their scholarships and community grants, as well as projects they do around the county each year.

For more information about these events and about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu. In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening. For anyone interested in learning more about the Master Gardener program and becoming a Master Gardener, the next class will begin in August of 2021, with a mix of online and hands-on learning. Find details and sign up on the Iowa Master Gardener website, or call the Cass County Extension office to learn more!

The Adair County Board of Supervisors, during an electronic meeting Wednesday morning, voted against the sale of alcohol during the Adair County Fair. Prior to the meeting, written objections were raised to the idea from Adair County residents Colleen and Jerry Oxley, Barb Kalbach, and LuAnne Shelley. In her statement, LuAnn Shelley said “The county fair is for the children! (If the adults think they need alcohol, there are several places they can go drink.) Please leave this for the children! They don’t have as many places or choices as the adults have for recreation. Please, leave this for the children!”

Fairboard member Joe Herr addressed the Supervisors. He said the Fair Board has discussed allowing alcohol on a nightly basis, from one-hour before events to one-half hour after. The venue for serving alcohol would be restricted.

He said alcohol would not be allowed outside of a fenced-in area. Herr acknowledged concerns over persons having too much alcohol, and then drinking and driving.

Herr said allowing alcohol would be a financial benefit to the Fair.

Supervisors Board Chair Steve Shelley made it clear, that if the sale of alcohol is permitted at the Adair County Fair, he will no longer be in favor of Board financial support for the Fair.

Board member Jodi Hoadley suggested if the Fair Board needs the money that badly, the Supervisors could look at increasing the amount they give to the fair each year. In the end, the Supervisors voted unanimously NOT to support the proposal to allow alcohol at the fair.

In other business, the Adair County Supervisors approved a contract for the mowing of the Grove Cemetery. They also agreed to allow in-person meetings at the courthouse, with the provision masks be worn in the courtroom and as social distancing allows, if the governor does not extend her current proclamation. Department heads would have the final decision on whether masks are required in their individual offices.

Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, spoke Wednesday, with regard to a new vehicle purchase/Trade-in. The current 2017 Tahoe has a lot of miles on it. Vandewater has worked out a deal with Karl Chevrolet for a 2021 Tahoe at $36,216. With a trade-in for $18,500, that leaves a net cost of $18,216. The vehicle is Budgeted for already, and board approved the trade-in and purchase.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports at around 12:10-p.m. on March 31st, Adams County Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in Carbon. The driver, 42-year-old Joleen Most, of Carbon, was arrested for Driving While Barred. She was transported to the Adams County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating a shooting by a Waterloo police officer that left a man injured early today (Wednesday). The incident happened around 12:45 AM after someone reported seeing a man carrying a long gun walking along a city street. A short time later, two Black Hawk County sheriff’s deputies spotted the man walking on a bridge that crosses the Cedar River.

Waterloo police say the deputies made contact with the armed man, who then pointed the weapon at hip level toward one of the deputies and chased after the deputy. According to information released by Waterloo police, a local officer saw what was occurring and fired at the man, striking him twice. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and later transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Waterloo police say neither the officer and or deputies were injured.

Glenwood Police report a Glenwood woman was arrested Tuesday. 20-year-old Samantha Kisler was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. Her cash or surety bond was set at $2,500.

The news at 8:12-a.m. from Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Three people were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 30-year-old Alex Cunningham, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Failure to serve a court-ordered jail sentence on an original Violation of a Protection order, charge. Cunningham was being held in the Union County Jail until the balance of his sentence is served.

20-year-old Montell Rivers, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday at his residence, for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

And, 19-year-old Jillian Simmons, of Corning, was arrested in Creston Tuesday night, for Possession of Paraphernalia. She was subsequently released on a $300 bond.

With Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS